STREATOR, Ill. (DTN) -- Ethanol and other biofuel producers will no longer be exempt from obtaining a Clean Air Act air pollution permit as a major emitter of carbon dioxide, following a court ruling handed down Friday morning.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit on Friday vacated an Environmental Protection Agency three-year deferral for biogenic emitters of carbon dioxide, such as ethanol biorefineries, saying the EPA's exemption was "arbitrary and capricious. The court ruled in favor of a petition for review by the Center for Biological Diversity, argued before the court April 8.